Pollinator Initiative Project at Michigan State University

We received the following communication from Mike Hansen, State Apiarist for Michigan…

Good Morning, many of you already know Meghan Milbrath through presentations she’s provided at local bee club meetings, through MBA’s Annual meeting at ANR week, through the Northern Bee Network, or through many of the bee schools being offered. Meghan recently joined the staff at Michigan State University’s Dept. of Entomology and has been given the task to direct and coordinate a pollinator initiative here in Michigan. Meghan is looking for assistance from beekeepers who are interested in partnering with her. She’s provided the following as a means of introduction, and I hope many of you will respond to Meghan by participating in her mail list and then discovering ways you can help Meghan with the work she’s been asked to do through Michigan State University. Thank you

Mike Hansen, State Apiarist
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Hello beekeepers,

My name is Meghan Milbrath, and I am the coordinator of the Michigan Pollinator Initiative – a program started at Michigan State University to address concerns related to pollinators and pollination related issues in the state of Michigan. I would like your help and input as beekeepers/ stakeholders. As we work on understanding the threats and solutions for bees in Michigan it would be best to have an easy way to communicate directly with those most involved. I’ve created a mailing list that will be used only for communication between me, as the coordinator of pollinator related activities at MSU, and you all – the beekeepers. This list will be used to provide you with updates of current projects, to solicit input on future research directions, and to create a list of beekeepers willing to work with us on research projects. Many of the upcoming projects will require hives for monitoring, and we would like to know people who will be willing to work with researchers so that when a project becomes funded we can have a list of beekeepers we can work with so we can get started right away. To sign up to bee on the email list, please use the link here.